Chapter 26 I cried, I was just kidding.
This old constable, having worked in the yamen for many years, was a shrewd man. Before Li Chenjin could say a word, he only needed to glance at her face to guess what she was thinking. He said such a long string of words to dissuade her from going to the Wu family.
Li Chen smiled and said, "I understand, and I will not make things difficult for you."
Upon hearing Li Chenjin's words, the old constable knew that she had grasped his implied meaning, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief, looking as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "However, I think this matter has nothing to do with the Wu family. This lazy man is usually good-for-nothing, poor and slovenly, and he hardly speaks a word to anyone around him, let alone have any connection with the Wu family."
"If you ask me, he probably just happened to find it. The Wu family is a large and wealthy family, and they often throw out things they don't need. Everyone in town knows about this, and people often wander around outside the Wu family's house, just waiting to pick up those things they throw out."
Li Chen smiled slightly, "I understand. Thank you for your help today. Please go back and tell the officials and the mayor that I will resolve the matter of the evil spirit as soon as possible."
Upon hearing this, the old constable knew that he no longer needed to follow Li Chenjin around. He quickly thanked him and treated Li Chenjin to a meal. After the meal, he escorted him to the outskirts of town.
When Li Chen finally left the town, it was already dusk.
As darkness fell, the daytime heat gradually subsided, bringing a touch of coolness.
Following his memory, Li Chen led the fermented rice balls to the spot where she had put the small building down. However, upon seeing what was in front of them, both he and the dog froze in place.
A three-story building with carved beams and painted rafters replaced the original dilapidated building. Although it had only been two days, the building was decorated with exquisite patterns. The original backyard was occupied by the expanded building, and the small pond in the front yard was filled in.
There was a path in the middle of the front yard, with all sorts of exotic flowers and plants planted on both sides. The fool she had temporarily tricked was squatting in a corner of the front yard, holding a bunch of flowers and diligently planting them.
Although it wasn't built according to the blueprints she provided, the wood used was clearly of the highest quality, leaving her, who hadn't spent a single penny from start to finish, with no grounds to be angry, even if she wanted to.
Upon noticing Li Chenjin, he immediately jumped out from the corner and blurted out, "Why are you back so soon? I haven't finished planting the flowers yet... But now that's almost done, since you're back, the rest is up to you."
After saying that, he raised an eyebrow, stepped aside to let Li Chen admire his masterpiece, and said confidently, "How is it? Isn't it much better than your drawings? Isn't this cultivator exceptionally talented in the art of architecture?"
Li Chen nodded. "It looks good. But I don't like it."
"What?!" Han Shannan immediately stopped laughing. His eyes widened as he stared at Li Chenjin in disbelief. "You said it's beautiful, so how can you not like it? This is something I, a cultivator, spent two whole days painstakingly building! How is it not better than your drawing? Do you even know how to appreciate art?"
Li Chen looked at the person in front of him who was jumping up and down after she said that, and coughed lightly and said, "Ah... it's like this. I admit that what Xiushi Han built is indeed better than what I drew, but I'm afraid I'm not worthy of enjoying so many rare flowers and exotic plants. Why don't you return them to where Xiushi Han bought them from?"
Han Shannan frowned and asked, "Why? I didn't ask you to pay anything..."
Li Chen sighed, then coughed a few times feigning grief, saying, "Cultivator Han has seen what my original residence looked like. I am in poor health and short of money; it was already difficult enough to save enough to rebuild it. I originally intended to keep this courtyard to grow vegetables, so that I wouldn't go hungry later. I hope you'll forgive my poor appearance, Cultivator Han..."
As she spoke, she raised her hand and wiped her eyes with her sleeve, making Han Shannan feel as if he wasn't human. He quickly said, "You, don't cry! It's my fault. I should have built it according to the blueprints you gave me. How about this, give me two more days, and I promise I won't act on my own again. I'll rebuild it for you according to your blueprints."
"Here, and here's some more money for you. I... I never imagined that people in your meditation community had such a hard life..."
Li Chen sighed and politely declined, saying, "There's no need for the money. This is actually quite good. Cultivator Han only needs to send these flowers and plants back, which will save you some money."
"It's alright," Han Shannan said nonchalantly. "I'm not short of a little money."
"It's better to be frugal," Li Chen said. "Doesn't Cultivator Han admire the Sword God? I remember the Sword God was very frugal."
Han Shannan was taken aback. After thinking carefully for a moment, he said uncertainly, "Is the Sword God frugal? But I heard that the Sword God's clothes are all made of silkworm silk worth a hundred gold pieces. And it must be silk spun by silkworms raised in the place with the most abundant spiritual energy. I heard that wearing it can keep you warm in winter and cool in summer, and make you impervious to swords and blades. One piece of clothing is worth at least a city..."
Hearing Han Shannan's words, Li Chen coughed and said, "Rumors! These are rumors! I've been friends with the Sword Goddess for so many years, and I've never heard of her wearing clothes made of silkworm silk. At most, she wears some fine silks and satins. How could it be so exaggerated?"
"Heavenly silkworm silk is rare; the silk spun by a single heavenly silkworm is worth a hundred gold pieces. To make a garment, at least nine thousand heavenly silkworms are needed. Even if the Wanshan Sect were sold, the required amount of silver could not be raised."
Han Shannan thought about it carefully and found that it was indeed true. Just as he was about to ask more about the Sword God, he saw Li Chenjin walk along the path to the front of the small building.
She pushed open the door and cautiously peered inside.
Thankfully, the furniture here is what she originally had in her small building, so it's all normal.
She turned around and looked at the person who had followed her and said, "Thank you for your generous help, Cultivator Han. In principle, I should give you the Sword God's sword manual now, but as you know, Cultivator Han, the Sword God's sword manual is very precious. I am too weak to even kill a chicken, and I am afraid that someone will steal it. So I dare not carry it with me. Therefore, it is stored in the Zen Cultivation Realm."
"Alas... I also wish to return to the Zen Cultivation Realm, but I am unable to leave for the time being. I can only trouble you, Cultivator Han, to stay here for a while. After I deal with the evil spirits here, I will return to the Zen Cultivation Realm to retrieve the sword manual for you."
Han Shannan was taken aback and quickly asked, "What kind of evil spirit?"
After inviting Han Shannan to sit down, Li Chen poured him a cup of tea and recounted the story of the evil spirits killing people in Xicheng Town.
After hearing this, his expression immediately turned serious. "Then this evil spirit must be very powerful. Can you handle it alone? Anyway, I'm already here, so I'll go with you to investigate this evil spirit tomorrow."
Li Chen hesitated and said, "But wouldn't that be too much trouble for Cultivator Han?"
"It's alright." Han Shannan waved his hand and said, "Anyway, I'm already here. Besides, you need to go back to the Zen Cultivation World to get the sword manual, right? If we resolve this matter sooner, the people here can live in peace, and I can go to the Zen Cultivation World with you to get the sword manual as soon as possible."
"Besides... when the Sword Goddess was alive, she always fought against evil and protected the righteous, helping the weak and punishing the strong. Now that I am going to learn the sword manual she left behind, I should also learn to be a good person like her!"
Li Chen nodded, looking at the person opposite him with great admiration, and said, "If the Sword God were alive today, he would be very pleased to see someone like Han Xiushi so respectful to him!"
Han Shannan smiled, looking somewhat embarrassed, "It was just a small favor."
Li Chenjin had originally planned to find a helper, but seeing that Han Shannan was suitable, she decided to give him a try. She never expected it to go so smoothly, which immediately put her in a good mood. After pouring Han Shannan a few more cups of tea, she said, "Han, you have worked hard today. Why don't you rest early so that we can go out early tomorrow to investigate the matter of the evil spirits?"
Seeing that she was about to leave, Han Shannan quickly stood up and stopped her, saying, "Weren't you a good friend of the Sword God when he was alive? Then you must know a lot about the Sword God. Could you tell me some of it later?"
“That’s certainly not a problem.” Li Chen pondered for a moment, “but it’s not appropriate to talk about this now… How about this, once the matter of the evil spirits here is resolved, on our way back to the Zen cultivation world, I will explain everything about the Sword God to you in detail, Mr. Han?”
Han Shannan nodded, after all, dealing with the evil spirits in the town was indeed more important at the moment. He smiled and said, "Don't worry, with this cultivator taking action, the evil spirits in the town will surely be resolved quickly."
Li Chen smiled, exchanged a few more polite words with Han Shannan, and then went into the first-floor room where people could live.
Li Chen had already asked the old constable to take her to the place where the Wu family was located, so she remembered the way. After having breakfast early in the morning, the two of them headed in the direction of the Wu family.
The Wu family truly lived up to its reputation as the wealthiest family in Xicheng Town. The grandeur of their mansion stood out from the surrounding houses. On either side of the gate stood a bronze lion statue, which gleamed brightly in the sunlight, making it quite eye-catching.
Han Shannan had carried the candlestick all the way here. Now that he had arrived at the place, he ran over without saying a word and asked, "Does this candlestick belong to your household?"
The gatekeeper looked at him as if he were a fool. Seeing this, Li Chen stepped forward and said, "We two are from the Zen cultivation world. We found this candlestick in the house of the person who was killed by evil spirits, and we wanted to ask if it was sent by your family."
Hearing Li Chenjin's words, the gatekeeper glanced disdainfully at the candlestick in Han Shannan's hand and said, "This thing is indeed from our household, but it's always been others who give gifts to our master, never our master who gives gifts to others. Besides, this candlestick isn't anything special in our household. If we were to give a gift, we certainly wouldn't choose something so unrefined."
A note from the author:
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